A few random questions!

Can someone explain the S hook technique? Sounds like a masterful idea to cure my lack of prince boomerangs. I can't seem to find the youtube vid.

How the heck do you guys get the strings so straight? Multis, monos, synthetic guts all look wobbly and unprofessional when i'm finished. Even some polys.

Any tips on stringing dense string patterns? When i try to do a quality rush job, my hands sweat like crazy. I'm still relatively new to stringing so any tips would help. I keep thinking if I'm having trouble with this noodley stuff, how am i going to handle something stiff like BBO??

How much do you guys increase the tension before tie offs? I actually just recently learned of this and plan to do some light experiments so I can get my tension true to racquet tune. I heard that a increase of between 5-8lbs on the last two crosses/mains(on my dropweight) would compensate for the loose knots and string from tie offs. True or false?

What easy knots do you guys recommend for stringing? 15-17g strings i use all Wilson Pro Knots, but anything thinner I try to do a bulky knot, but it looks sloppy sometimes.

The problem with ported racket is the string must stay near the bottom of the port when you string the racket from the top down. Because the turn table pivot point is below the port in the top half of the racket the string tends to stay in the top of the port. So Prince uses a boomerang to hold the string in the bottom of the port. The S hook holds the string down by hooking into the next lower port with the bottom hook and the string is ran through the top hook. This holds the string an equal distance from the lower port. Problem is that distance is not exactly the same every time so you string are going to be crooked.

The easiest way (for all stringers) to get the strings straight is to use the 2 piece 50/50. That way when you string from the center up the string stays in the top portion of the port because the pivot point of the turn table is below the port. The string will be straight. And when you string from the center because the pivot point is above the ports the string stays in the bottom of the port.

I'm a big proponent of the s-hook method, however, if your machine has a good brake this method is pointless. If you know how to use the 50/50 method you can compare the two and figure out which one you prefer. Quite a few people use the 50/50 or a boomerang. I've tried the boomerang and it works fine, however, on occasion they pop out of place, which isn't a huge deal, but with the s-hook that's never an issue. The 50/50 method was fine as well, but I simply prefer the simplicity of the s-hook. There was something about starting in the middle of the racquet and being obligated to use a starting clamp that didn't quite sit well with me, didn't seem as seamless as using the s-hook. Anyway, your opinion may be different. Try it and see what you think - it's a cheap experiment.

The easiest way (for all stringers) to get the strings straight is to use the 2 piece 50/50.

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Ok I do have enough time to address this statement. To be clear, using the 50/50 method allows the string to align properly with the ports, so in that sense they start off straight, but it doesn't mean your strings will be any straighter if you don't push against the string as you tension or straighten them after the job is complete; you'll still have some frowning.

i meant straight strings on any racket. I have all sorts of frowning. My jobs just don't look as clean as from someone else

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Weaving one cross ahead of the one you're tensioning will eliminate much of the 'frowning'; but you will still need to fine-tune as you go and when finished.

I've strung 22 rackets non-stop with 'typical' synthetic and didn't need a blunt awl for any of them. On the other hand, all it takes is one small cut or split in your fingertips to create an entirely different type of 'frown' . My blunt awl is around here somewhere in case I need it. Actually, I use a pair of smooth curved-needle-nose pliers to straighten the difficult strings when needed.

I'm a big proponent of the s-hook method, however, if your machine has a good brake this method is pointless. If you know how to use the 50/50 method you can compare the two and figure out which one you prefer. Quite a few people use the 50/50 or a boomerang. I've tried the boomerang and it works fine, however, on occasion they pop out of place, which isn't a huge deal, but with the s-hook that's never an issue. The 50/50 method was fine as well, but I simply prefer the simplicity of the s-hook. There was something about starting in the middle of the racquet and being obligated to use a starting clamp that didn't quite sit well with me, didn't seem as seamless as using the s-hook. Anyway, your opinion may be different. Try it and see what you think - it's a cheap experiment.

I really dont agree that the boomerang works fine. Cross strings seem to lose a substantial amount of tension especially on the Prince EXO3 Silver, although there seem be tension loss on all Prince EXO3 when using boomerang due to the fact that cross string is not even close to being horizontal while being tensioned. Irvin what is your opinion on this?>

Weaving one cross ahead of the one you're tensioning will eliminate much of the 'frowning'; but you will still need to fine-tune as you go and when finished.

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I disagree, all "one ahead" does is make it easier to weave the crosses, because the last tensioned cross will be the same weave. I don't think it prevents frowning, becuase the "one ahead" weave has no tension.

You can always "cheat" by hand pulling tension with cam pliers and holding tension with a lubed awl. Or, over-tension your last pulls to compensate. Best is to just keep developing your tie off skills as mentioned by others here.

I've come across threads here before that suggested as much as 8 lbs increase on the last pull to compensate for the tension loss due to the knot. But that was a long time ago. It's really up to you to know how tight of a knot you can tie and decide how much to compensate for it.